The Silhouette of Gotham
by T. K. Ryder
Summary: While delivering the apprehended Joker to Arkham Asylum, a breakout occurs. The Batman is forced to recapture the Joker, and quell the breakout. Will feature villains not involved in movies.
1. You won't kill me

**A/N: **Obligatory for the first chapter.

This story takes place very shortly after the Dark Knight, and it assumes that Batman Begins, Gotham Knight, and The Dark Knight are all canon.

**I**

**You won't kill me**

As he came back up, the Batman's grappling hook attached to his shoe and grunting along the way, the Joker muttered: "_You_. You just couldn't let me go, could you?"

The Batman blinked once, then listened.

"This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly _are_ incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some…misplaced sense of _righteousness_, and I won't kill you because you're just too much _fun_." He smiled broadly, showing his terrible rictus, and again accentuating the scars along his face. "I think you and I are destined to do this forever."

"You'll be in a padded cell forever," the Batman growled.

The Joker laughed again, then said: "Maybe we can share one. They'll be doubling up, at the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds."

"This city just showed you that it's _full_ of people willing to believe in _good_."

"Until their spirits break completely! Until they get a look at the real _Harvey Dent_ and all the heroic things _he's _done. Then, Gotham will know the true face of heroism. You didn't think I would risk the battle for Gotham's _soul_ in a fistfight with you?!" The Joker said incredulously. "When dealing with _this_ city, you need an ace in the hole. Mine's _Harvey_."

The Batman stared, and his growl faltered: "What did you do?"

"I took Gotham's 'White Knight' and I…brought him down to _our_ level. It wasn't hard. You see, madness, as you know, is like…gravity. All it takes is a little _push_." With that, he pushed himself, still hanging upside down, and laughed maniacally. The Batman stormed away as quickly as possible, just before a SWAT team arrived.

--

No explosion, she thought, thank god. She was sitting in front of an electronics store, watching the TVs in the window, praying and praying that there wouldn't be an explosion. Her aunt and her cousin were on that ferry. She had almost cried when it reached midnight and there still wasn't a boom. Then, nothing had happened. Nothing. Now she simply sat, wondering.

"I'm a man of my _word_," he had said. Was it just a bluff? Or was he waiting, building up suspense, giving them just one more chance to blow themselves up? She still waited. She heard the news anchors speaking but did not hear the words. Her mind was unconsciously scanning for key words.

Batman, SWAT team, ferry, passengers, explosion, dead; words she was listening for. Eventually, she looked up and saw a man hovering over her. At first she thought he was watching the TVs too, but quickly realized he was instead staring at her. When he saw her look up, he smiled cruelly.

Before she could respond, he grabbed her hair with one hand and pulled her up, then put his other hand, a wet cloth in it, onto her mouth. She screamed, but quickly felt she didn't have the energy to continue. Her limbs felt weak, she felt light-headed. She glanced down at the cloth and realized suddenly what it was wet with.

"Shh," said the man, smiling still. "Go to sleep. It'll be alright." She tried to lift her arms to fight him off, but it didn't work. She looked around and saw the streets deserted, everyone hiding in their homes and afraid for their lives because of the Joker. She felt something pressed against her and realized that the man couldn't even bother to wait until he brought her home, and had slipped his hand up her shirt.

She didn't bother to fight it, she couldn't. She slumped against him, the exhaustion taking over every thought she permitted herself. Then, a flash, like a lightning bolt cast by a mad god. Something flew through the air and stabbed into the man's shoulder. His arm flew away and she gulped the air, trying to fight off the liquid's effects. The man fell back and she fell with him, not being able to hold her own body up.

She glanced at the man, from her position lying on the ground, and could see only the side of his face and his shoulder. In his shoulder was a sharp, thin piece of silvery metal. Blood was gushing from the wound, and she suddenly realized what it was shaped like: a bat.

Just as the man stood up to look around, she had to strength to lift her head up and do the same. The man looked left and right frantically, and fumbled in his waist band for a gun that he just couldn't seem to find. He never had a chance to find it. The Batman found it for him.

He was like a shadow. He swooped out from nowhere and engulfed him, his massive wing-like cloak completely enveloping the screaming man. There were two hard thwacks, then a black silhouette lifted the man up in the air by the shoulders, and threw him against the wall of the electronics store, thankfully not into the glass. The Batman rolled his shoulders, then turned to leave but stopped at her feeble cry of: "Batman…"

The Batman turned and saw the girl on the ground. He slid over and scooped her up, then propped her onto her feet. When she started to droop again, he reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small syringe. He pulled a needle out of the same pocket and hooked it on, then injected just a bit into her throat.

She felt life gushing into her body, her entire self re-energized. She glanced down and saw the man's gun, broken apart into pieces with the bullets missing then stared at The Batman. He nodded, then shot his grappling hook at the roof of the electronics store and was gone.

--

"Master Wayne," muttered Alfred, walking into his penthouse room. He was surprised to actually see that Bruce was asleep in his bed. The sheets and blankets were thrashed and thrown everywhere from fitful sleep, but he was in his bed for the first time in a long while. Most of the nights previous had been spent in the new "bat cave".

"Mr. Wayne, wake up," said Alfred, and the playboy stirred. "Gordon is giving his speech for Harvey. He hasn't mentioned Batman."

"He will," muttered Wayne.

"I am certain of this," said Alfred. "Nevertheless, you need to wake up. Even billionaire playboys can't sleep past three pm."

"Recycling your lines now, Alfred?"

Alfred said nothing, and simply walked to the curtains, throwing them open. Bruce nearly hissed and rolled away, shielding his eyes like a vampire.

"What if said playboy stayed up late into the night fighting villains, saving lives, and whatnot?"

"Three PM, master Bruce?" Said Alfred, smiling and looking at him. "I believe that fifteen or more hours is more than enough even for you."

"Not for Batman."

"I believe, Master Wayne, that you once said that 'Batman has no limits'."

"Twisting my words again," said Bruce, forcing himself up to a sitting position. There was a long lack of sound as Alfred walked shortly out of the room, grabbed a tray full of food, and brought into Wayne's room, setting it across his lap.

"What do you think they will do?"

"Who and to whom?" asked Alfred.

"Gotham, to Batman."

"Perhaps they will do exactly as Commissioner Gordon said they would."

"Hunt me?"

"And set the dogs on you, yes."

"Good," said Bruce.

"And what will Batman do about that?"

"He will do what he has always done."

"And he will, I assume, try not to get shot?"

"Yes," said Bruce, with a smile.

--

The night found The Batman upon the roof of a tall building overlooking the island that was now Arkham. It used to simply be an asylum, but after what had happened after Ra's al Ghul's stunt, it had become forsaken land, given over to the asylum.

"Alfred, can you hear me?"

"Unfortunately loudly, sir," came the British accent over his earpiece.

"Good," said The Batman. "So if I whisper, it'll still be loud and clear."

"Especially loud."

The Batman now simply watched as an armored car drove toward the bridge that connected Gotham with Arkham. After what the Joker had done before, there were now three armored cars and four police cruisers in a square around them.

"Alfred, I need sonar."

A blue interface appeared over the Batman's vision. What he saw before him was mostly a sea of black, since most of the sonar phones had been shut down after Lucius turned them off. Only a few had stayed online, and there were "conveniently" at least one in each armored car. The Batman could see within each armored car and found that the Joker was in the center one. Well protected, but obvious. If the Joker had planned anything, it wouldn't be difficult for them to figure out where he was.

So the Batman watched, leaping from building to building, the slow journey of the armored car to the bridge of Arkham. Once it reached the bridge, it drove over, then surrendered the armored car to the security guards that helped to keep Arkham quarantined. However, something went wrong.

"Master Wayne," muttered Alfred, clearly watching through the sonar. "What is happening?"

The Batman turned his sonar vision off and swung closer to get a better view, and then realized, with horror, that something _was_ terribly wrong. The door to the armored car was left open and it was driving away faster than it should have, toward the center of the island. As the Batman drew ever closer, he spotted two bodies lying on the ground where the armored car switch took place.

"I'll tell you in a minute, Alfred," growled the Batman as he turned a dial on his cowl. His earpiece switched to a police scanner, and he heard a terrifying report: "All Points Bulletin: There has been a riot at Arkham Asylum. Calling all units…"

The Batman switched his earpiece back to Alfred and started running and leaping across rooftops, using all his acrobatic strength to keep himself moving lightning quick. He got to where he had left the batpod and hopped on.

"Alfred, prepare my utility belt," roared the Batman as he sped through back alleys, avoiding the main streets. There would be more than enough police swarming them, and he didn't want to be impeded by them. "There's been a breakout at Arkham."


	2. Busy streets, amess with people

**A/N**: After watching Gotham Knight, namely the episode "Crossfire", I got the feeling that Arkham "Asylum" was now effectively Arkham Island. I dunno if anyone else saw this, but I don't care. It's my story.

Hah. By the way: Reviews are pleasant. They inspire me to write, it seems.

(EDIT: Ooh! I looked it up, apparently Wikipedia agrees with me on this point:

en./wiki/ArkhamAsylum#Batman:GothamKnight)

**II**

**Busy streets, amess with people**

All of the information on the criminals of Gotham city, a massive archive that would take a supercomputer to contain, had been given to Batman. Gordon had given it willingly if secretively. Gordon, unlike most of the city, was still working with and _for_ The Batman in the simplest way he could, by simply letting him keep the entire archive.

And now Alfred stood before it, filling up Bruce's utility belt. The batpod spun into the new new bat cave, a small hidden rundown shack that he and Alfred had set up in the case that the first new one was ever discovered. It hadn't been discovered, but it _had_ been abandoned, the two of them expecting that Bruce would have to reveal himself.

He hadn't, in the end, but the bat cave was still gone. The Batman swung himself off of the batpod and walked over to Alfred. Alfred handed over the utility belt and he snapped it on, rummaging through it to make sure it had all his needed tools.

"Master Wayne, what do you intend to do?"

"Catch the Joker, find out what's happening."

The Batman reached into a new pocket of the utility belt that wasn't there the last time he had seen it, and pulled out six small pellets. He held them up to Alfred between his fingers and asked: "What are these?"

"Lucius delivered them this morning. He said it will be one of his last deliveries for a while, now that Batman is a 'menace'. He said that they freeze any liquid they touch in a small area."

"And how would that be useful?"

"I do not know," said Alfred. "But you might as well keep them."

The Batman glanced questioningly at Alfred, then dropped the pellets back in. He tightened the belt around his waist, then walked back over to the batpod. Without a word, he turned it on and drove out of the bat cave.

--

Only a day had passed since the Joker had been captured, and life had already been restored to Gotham. As The Batman sped down the packed streets in the batpod, people staring in wonder at the vigilante, the public menace, he couldn't help but be amazed at how quickly his city had sprung back from sleep, from death. They had all died the same night that Commissioner Loeb and Judge Surrillo had. They died that night, hiding in their homes, living in fear of the Joker.

The Joker, Batman thought, how much has he changed Gotham? This city will never be the same again, not after the scourge of the Joker has touched it. Now, the people hate their savior, and madness like the Joker will only rise again. And now that madman is free again, among his own kind.

Two police cruisers passed him, not even noticing him. Sure, he was now officially a menace to the city, and now they were supposed to _actually_ arrest him on sight and not just _say_ they were going to, but that didn't mean they would go out of their way to do it. Every member of the MCU that was still alive knew that the Batman wasn't a menace, knew that he was a savior. They were Gordon's men. Gordon, one of the few legitimate people left in this city.

Gordon, who the Batman now meant to see. He wondered, when he thought this, if the police cruisers from before had even noticed him. There was a break out at Arkham. Somehow, it had managed to escape his mind for a few moments, but now it was back. Maybe those cops had bigger things on their mind.

"One man or the whole mob? He can wait," He remembered himself saying. How wrong he was. Maybe if he had gone after the Joker earlier, maybe he could have saved Rachel, saved Dent. Maybe he could have saved himself. Maybe, just maybe, he could have saved Gotham.

He sped up the batpod, trying to force his mind away from the past, away from what the Joker had done to his city, to his friends, to his love. Instead, he went over what he would say to Gordon, and what he would do once he got to Arkham.

And there it was. The police station, where Gordon now resided. The MCU was gone after what the Joker had done, along with most of its men. The Batman hid the batpod in an alley nearby and shot his grappling hook to the top of the building. He shot to the top of it and slunk to Gordon's window. He had had Alfred figure out exactly where it was beforehand to make it easier. The Batman slipped his head over the edge and saw that the room was empty. He swung down, holding himself over the edge with one hand, and unlatched the window with the other. He slid the window up and slipped in.

Two minutes later, the door opened and Gordon walked in, flicking on the light. He sighed, walked to his desk, and sat down. As soon as he did, he spotted the Batman standing in the corner of the room. He jumped in shock, and opened up his desk drawer. He pulled out a small pistol and held it up threateningly: "I have to arrest you."

The Batman simply sighed and held up the magazine of the gun. Gordon glanced down and saw that it was empty, and that all the clips that he stored in his desk were gone. Gordon sighed, dropped the gun, and sat down at his desk. He looked up at The Batman, exhausted, waiting for him to speak.

"Another breakout at Arkham," said the Batman. "The Joker's in there now."

"Yes," said Gordon. "We aren't sure where he is. We aren't even sure he's on the island."

"He is," said the Batman. "I saw him. Now, I want you to call off your cops, have them just quarantine the island. I can't risk the Joker getting out."

"You know that I can't do that. If the public even gets a _hint_ that I'm working with you, I'll lose my job."

"Call off as many as you can. Keep them off the island. That's all I need. After this, I won't ask you for anything."

Gordon looked around frantically, then sighed, saying: "Okay, okay. I-I'll try. But you've got to get in without them noticing. And they have guards on all the drawbridges. If you get in without them noticing, I can probably keep them off the island."

"Good," growled the Batman. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small ear bud. He handed it to Gordon. "The same as the one I gave you before, except this one still works."

Gordon nodded wordlessly, pressed the ear bud into his ear, and turned around and touched the map of Gotham on the back wall of his office.

"There are supposed to be old docks that the Narrows used. Maybe you can get in from one of those." He turned around, but the Batman was already gone.

--

He left the batpod where it was, and simply stalked across the rooftops. With traffic how it was, it was actually a quicker route. It almost seemed to the Batman that people were trying to make up for all the driving they hadn't done while they were living in fear of the Joker. That proved a problem. But it was easily solved by Gotham's plethora of rooftops.

The Dark Knight was like a shadow, a silhouette, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, sometimes employing his grappling gun to help his ascent. Before too long, he stood on the same building that he had stood on earlier that very night, watching the Narrows, and Arkham Asylum.

"The Narrows is lost," Gordon had once said. Maybe he never imagined it would come this far, or maybe he knew. Gordon was a smart man, an intuitive man. Maybe he knew that eventually the Narrows would become Arkham. Maybe the Joker was right…

"They'll be doubling up, at the rate this cities inhabitants are losing their minds," The Joker had said, only the night before. In the end, he was right. Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane was getting far too full. It had to expand some time. Ra's al Ghul's attack on Gotham was simply a convenient opportunity to do just that. Once the population of the Narrows had been evacuated, the entire island was simply given to Arkham. It worked perfectly. Very few of Arkham's inmates had even been captured yet by the police force, so simply letting the Asylum collect them all naturally worked out well for everyone involved. Except, of course, for the people who had to collect the more insane criminals, and the more deadly.

The Batman followed Gordon's advice and made his way to the waters surrounding the island. He took his cape off and folded it up, slipping it into his waterproof utility belt. Then, he took a deep breathe and dove in.

It only took him a minute to get to the dock that Gordon had mentioned. Once he did, he hoisted himself up, snapped his cape back on, and followed the small path that led into the Narrows. The bulk of the island hadn't been converted to the asylum yet, but it was estimated that all of the criminals had been captured.

Now, however, the Batman was unsure. How many had escaped? Was it the whole asylum, or just one cell block? The Batman switched his cowl's ear bud back to the police scanner, but didn't get any useful information. So he simply stalked through the now empty streets.

When he heard a sound, he instinctively pulled out a batarang, and looked around frantically, a predator in search of his prey. Or was it the other way around? Suddenly, he heard a creak, like an old door opening, and threw the batarang with expert accuracy in the exact direction of the sound. Just as he did, he heard a scream and a man stumbled out, holding a bloody knife.

He was tall, well-built, and bald. His clothes were those of an inmate, and he grinned cruelly when he spotted the Batman. Batman could see holes in his uniform, and lines, scars, in the shape of a tally mark. A tiny name tag sown into his shirt said "Zsasz".


End file.
